May 25, 2026 The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church Gospel: Jn 19:25-34
Today, the Church celebrates the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. As noted in the Decree issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on March 3, 2018, following the instruction of Pope Francis to inscribe this celebration into the Roman Universal Calendar: Pope Paul VI, on November 21, 1964, at the conclusion of the Third Session of the Second Vatican Council, proclaimed the Blessed Virgin Mary as “Mother of the Church”—that is, Mother of all Christians, both the faithful and the shepherds. He further stated: “The whole body of the faithful… should invoke the Most Holy Virgin as ‘Mother most loving.'” Pope Francis, after careful consideration, recognized that promoting this devotion could greatly encourage pastors, religious, and the faithful, fostering a deeper consciousness of Marian devotion. Therefore, he decreed that the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, be celebrated annually on the Monday after Pentecost.
Today’s Gospel passage from Saint John presents us with one of the most moving scenes in salvation history. Saint John tells us: “Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, and Mary of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene” (cf. Jn 19:25). This group of courageous women accompanied Jesus with great fortitude. This description is not contradictory; rather, Saint John intends to invite us to imitate these women, always viewing the sufferings of Jesus for us through the eyes of faith. In His dying moments, Jesus entrusted His Mother to Saint John, representing all humanity, thereby making her the Mother of all the redeemed.
As we read in the Acts of the Apostles, after the Ascension of Jesus, the Virgin Mary did not depart from the disciples of her Son. Instead, she returned with them to the upper room in Jerusalem, where she persevered with them in prayer, united in heart and mind (cf. Acts 1:12-14). From this, we see that while humanity lost the infinite grace bestowed by God through the disobedience of the first Eve, it is through the obedience of the second Eve—the Virgin Mary—and by the fountain of mercy flowing from the pierced side of the second Adam, Jesus Christ, that original sin is washed away and the true freedom of God’s children is restored. Whenever the assembly of believers gathers in the name of the Lord, He comes to dwell among us, for Christ Himself promised: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (cf. Mt 18:20).
O God, Father of mercies, whose Only Begotten Son, as he hung upon the Cross, chose the Blessed Virgin Mary, his Mother, to be our Mother also, grant, we pray, that with her loving help your Church may be more fruitful day by day and, exulting in the holiness of her children, may draw to her embrace all the families of the peoples. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
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